the voice of technology - Northern Virginia Technology Council

Transcription

The Voice of Technology is a bi-monthly publication of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. www.nvtc.org
the voice of technology
Government
Affairs
January/February 2005
NVTC
northern virginia technology council magazine
Vol. 15 No. 1
NVTC Business Partners
features
NVTC’s 2005 Technology Legislative Agenda
A look ahead at our technology priorities
p. 8
Interview with Peter Jobse
What the president of CIT has to say
p. 15
Letter from Baghdad
A unique opportunity to hear from an NVTC
member inside Iraq
p. 20
council business
Message from the Board
p. 5
Bits-n-Bytes
p. 6
The NVTC Government Affairs Committee
p. 11
NewsLINK
p. 14
NVTC Calendar of Events
p. 18
New Members
p. 24
NVTC’s Tech Talk
p. 27
NVTC Foundation: Profiles in Giving
p. 29
Koelemay’s Kosmos
p. 30
The Voice of Technology
Page 3
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
N
orthern Virginia's technology industry accelerated in 2004 as business demand for services and
increased federal technology and homeland security boosted total jobs and salaries. We are creating more jobs here in Virginia than several other
states combined! Underpinning these remarkable
trends is a very favorable environment for business, including
a progressive public policy framework that makes Virginia a
great state in which to start and grow a technology company.
Northern Virginia's technology community and our policymakers at the federal, state and local levels enjoy a collaborative, supportive public-private partnership which drives positive decision making and pro-active initiatives to bolster education, training, tax policy, economic development, and technology-driven growth.
Each year strengthens my understanding of just how much our
success and economic growth rides on the technology community itself. The diversity of our regional strengths, from
software and the Internet to aerospace and telecommunications, make this a great place to lead in emerging, cross-cutting
areas such as bioinformatics and nanotechnology. And NVTC,
the nation's largest technology council, continues to convene
and bind our regional assets – companies, executives, angel
investors, venture capitalists, engineers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and educators – together.
As the voice for the region's tech community for over a decade,
NVTC has been front and center in the state capitol to advocate
for smart technology policies and for broader use of technology in delivering citizen services. These efforts have distinguished the Commonwealth as a global leader in eCommerce,
Internet governance, spam-fighting, digital government and
supportive tax policy.
Virginia's recent felony spam prosecution, the first successful
criminal prosecution in the nation, has put hacker-spammers
everywhere on notice that Virginia will not tolerate illegal and
costly criminal activities on our networks. Similarly,Virginia's
proven determination to resist adopting protectionist legislation signals to the world that Virginia is prepared to compete
successfully in today's global economy, an important signal to
send with U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations now supporting more than 171,000 Virginians. Likewise, Virginia's IT
restructuring, consolidation and procurement reform initia-
tive continues to move forward aggressively as a model for
other states.As well,Virginia's resolve to protect its small businesses from new administrative, accounting and collection
burdens from the Streamlined Sales Tax Project Agreement, a
multi-state Internet sales tax collection initiative, reaffirms
Virginia's status as a national technology policy leader.
When the General Assembly convenes in 2005, NVTC's lobbying team will once again be in Richmond on a full-time basis
to ensure that the voice of
Northern Virginia's technology community is
heard loud and clear.
NVTC's 2005 Technology
Policy Agenda for
Legislative Action calls
for a fully-funded Center
for
Innovative
Technology (CIT), a
strong Secretary of
Technology to ensure
Virginia remains at the
forefront of innovation,
continuing efforts to
address Northern Virginia's transportation crisis and tax policies to ensure greater use of technology, and to spur the creation of more high-skill, high-wage technology jobs across the
Commonwealth. Our agenda also includes initiatives to
enhance Virginia's capacity for R&D, spur greater use of public-private partnerships to address some of Virginia's education, transportation, and technology challenges, and elevate
the cultivation of Virginia's nanotechnology and biotechnology industries as statewide priorities.
Although the 2005 General Assembly session is a short one, it
presents a great opportunity for NVTC and our network of
influential, creative and innovative policymaker-partners to
actively build on our technology policy accomplishments of
the past to ensure an even stronger technology future for all
Virginians.
Sudhakar Shenoy
NVTC Chairman of the Board
Chairman and CEO, Information Management Consultants
Page 5
OFFICERS
Chairman
Sudhakar Shenoy
Information Management Consultants
ss1@imc.com
Secretary
Lisa Martin, LeapFrog Solutions
lmartin@leapfrogit.com
Treasurer
Jonathan Shames, Ernst & Young
jonathan.shames@ey.com
Vice Chairman
John C. Lee, IV, Lee Technologies
jlee@leetechnologies.com
General Counsel
Craig Chason, ShawPittman LLP
craig.chason@shawpittman.com
Vice Chairman
Todd Stottlemyer, Apogen Technologies
todd.stottlemyer@apogentech.com
President
Bobbie Kilberg, Northern Virginia Technology Council
bkilberg@nvtc.org
Public Relations Advisor
Doug Poretz, Qorvis Communications
dporetz@qorvis.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lou Addeo
AT&T Government Solutions
laddeo@att.com
Panos Anastassiadis, Cyveillance
panos@cyveillance.com
Greg Baroni, Unisys
greg.baroni@unisys.com
Brian Bates, Transaction Network
Services, Inc., bbates@tnsi.com
Gabe Battista,Talk America
gbattista@talk.com
John Becker, Cybertrust
jbecker@cybertrust.com
Kathy Clark, katherineclark@cox.net
Jim Leto, Robbins-Gioia
jim.leto@robbinsgioia.com
John Love, AH&T Technology Brokers
jlove@ahtins.com
Gary McCollum, Cox Communications
gary.mccollum@cox.com
TiTi McNeill, TranTech
titi_mcneill@trantech.com
Mike A. Daniels, SAIC
michael.a.daniels@saic.com
David C. Lucien
David.Lucien@interprocorp.com
Honorary Members
Gerald Gordon
Fairfax County Economic Development
Authority, ggordon@fceda.org
John Mendonca, KPMG LLP
jmendonca@kpmg.com
Alan Merten, George Mason University
amerten@gmu.edu
Peter Jobse, Virginia’s Center for
Innovative Technology, pjobse@cit.org
Linda Mills, Northrop Grumman
linda.mills@ngc.com
Gary Shapiro, Consumer Electronics
Association, gshapiro@ce.org
Donna Morea, CGI-AMS
donna.morea@ams.com
Senior Advisory
Paul Cofoni, CSC, pcofoni@csc.com
Bob Dinkel, Computer Associates
Robert.Dinkel@ca.com
Gary Nakamoto, Base Technologies
gnakamoto@basetech.com
Renny DiPentima, SRA International
renny_dipentima@sra.com
Gary Pan, Panacea Consulting
gpan@panatech.com
Jim Duffey, EDS
jim.duffey@eds.com
Alex Pinchev, Red Hat
apinchev@redhat.com
Phil Facchina, FBR
pfacchina@fbr.com
Leslie Platt
Foundation for Genetic Medicine
leslie.platt@ey.com
John Burton, Updata Capital
jburton@updata.com
Raul Fernandez, ObjectVideo
rfernandez@objectvideo.com
Dan Gonzalez, Scheer Partners
dgonzalez@scheerpartners.com
Deepak Hathiramani, Vistronix, Inc.
deepak.hathiramani@vistronix.com
Bob Johnson, Nextel Communications
bob.l.johnson@nextel.com
Hooks Johnston, Valhalla Partners
hooks@valhallapartners.com
Bob Kahn
Corporation for National Research
Initiatives, rkahn@cnri.reston.va.us
David Karlgaard, PEC Solutions
dkarlgaa@pec.com
Carol Kline, America Online, Inc.
carolklinecio@aol.com
Bob Korzeniewski, VeriSign
korzeniewski@verisign.com
Page 6
Gerald Rubin, HHMI’s Janelia Research
Campus, rubing@hhmi.org
Brad Schwartz, BearingPoint
bradley.schwartz@bearingpoint.com
Lydia Thomas, Mitretek Systems
lthomas@mitretek.org
Tom Hicks, Business Accelerations
tom@businessaccelerations.com
Scott Hommer, Venable LLP
jshommer@venable.com
Paul Lombardi, INpower
pvlombard@aol.com
Mario Morino, Morino Institute
mmorino@morino.org
Len Pomata, pomatalen@yahoo.com
Wayne Shelton, wshelton@prodigy.net
Knox Singleton, Inova Health System
knox.singleton@inova.com
Esther T. Smith
Qorvis Communications
esmith@qorvis.com
Steve Winings, Heidrick & Struggles
swinings@hs.com
Bob G. Templin
Northern Virginia Community College
templin@nvcc.edu
Dendy Young, GTSI
dendy_young@gtsi.com
Earle Williams, ewillms@aol.com
Chairman Emeritus
Bob Wright, Dimensions International
rlwright@dimen-intl.com
John Backus, Draper Atlantic
backus@draperatlantic.com
Dan Bannister, M International, Inc.
dbannister@mintex.net
Ed H. Bersoff, Greenwich Associates
ebersoff@greenwichassoc.com
BITS + BYTES
Apogen Technologies, a leading
provider of technology solutions in
the federal marketplace, was recognized by the Society of Human
Resource
Management-New
Mexico with a 2004 Human
Resources Excellence award for
Most HR Supportive Company in
New Mexico. Ilene Colina,
Corporate Vice President of Human
Resources for Apogen, received the
award for most Visionary HR
Professional. Both awards recognize
a high level of commitment, dedication, and innovation to the field of
Human
Resources.
Apogen
Technologies is ranked number 62
on Washington Technology's
Federal 100 list and is also listed in
the top 10 Department of
Homeland Security contractors.
Apogen is backed by Washington,
D.C.-based private equity firm
Arlington Capital Partners.
w w w. a p o g e n t e c h . c o m . AT S
Public Safety, a division of
Advanced Technology Systems,
Inc. (ATS), announced the hiring of
John Loverude, former CTO for the
Illinois State Police Information and
Technology Command. As a Senior
Public Safety Consultant, Loverude
will focus on information sharing
and interoperability issues within
state and local criminal justice
agencies. ATS specializes in the
development of information technology systems and solutions for
government and commercial
clients. www.atsva.com. Capitol
Power, a manufacturer's representative in the Baltimore, D.C., and
Northern Virginia region for mission
critical solutions, announced John
Johnson as the newest addition to
its sales team. Johnson has worked
in the critical power industry for
many years and brings with him an
extensive knowledge of batteryfree UPS and Generator applications. He will be covering both
Baltimore and Northern Maryland.
www.capitolpower.com. Convera
Corporation, a leading provider of
search and categorization software
for enterprises and government
agencies, has announced an agreement with In-Q-Tel to expedite the
development of a distributed
indexing capability. In-Q-Tel, a private venture group funded by the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
selected Convera based on the
company's proven ability to build
enterprise search solutions that
enable the intelligence community
to extract very specific details from
massive terabytes of incoming data.
Convera has begun development
Our Professionals
BITS + BYTES
Bobbie Greene Kilberg
President, NVTC
bkilberg@nvtc.org
Nancy Rollman
Vice President of Communications
nrollman@nvtc.org
Christine Kallivokas
Vice President of Operations
christine@nvtc.org
Pamela C. Dudley
President, NVTC Foundation
dudley@nvtc.org
Josh Levi
Vice President for Policy
jlevi@nvtc.org
Randy Cisler
Controller
rcisler@nvtc.org
Kristin Seitz
Executive Coordinator
Special Assistant to the
President
kseitz@nvtc.org
Tia Gibbs
Director of Production
and Design
tgibbs@nvtc.org
Tarin Heilman
Director of
Programs and Events
theilman@nvtc.org
Windy Honeycutt
Director of Committee
and Corporate Relations
whoneycutt@nvtc.org
Jennifer Williams
Director of Membership
and Benefits
jwilliams@nvtc.org
John Zett
Director
The Entrepreneur
Center @NVTC
jzett@nvtc.org
Nicole H. Bono
Event Coordinator
nbono@nvtc.org
Mildred Cooper Elder
Marketing and
Communications
Consultant
mcooper@nvtc.org
Sandra Henderson
Web Communications
and Technical Services
shenderson@nvtc.org
Margy Holder
Graphic Designer
mholder@nvtc.org
Shannon Jameson
Membership Sales
Manager
sjameson@nvtc.org
Barbara Johnson
Receptionist /
Administrative Assistant
bjohnson@nvtc.org
Nancy Johnston
Education-Workforce
Liaison
njohnston@nvtc.org
Cameron Kilberg
Project Coordinator
ckilberg@nvtc.org
Michele Mason
Member Services
mmason@nvtc.org
Jennifer Maginnis
Registration
Coordinator
jmaginnis@nvtc.org
Michelle Senglaub
Techtopia Marketing &
Project Management
NVTCMichelle@aol.com
Linda Willever
Accounting Assistant
lwillever@nvtc.org
The Northern Virginia Technology Council
2214 Rock Hill Road, Suite 300, Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 904-7878 / fax: (703) 904-8008
www.nvtc.org • hosted by PatriotNet
modifications to its enterprise search platform, RetrievalWare®, to
automatically index information contained within hundreds of databases. www.convera.com. The International Eye Foundation (IEF)
elected Frances R. Pierce, chairman, president & CEO of Data
Systems Analysts, to its Board of Directors. IEF is dedicated to the
promotion of peace through the prevention of blindness. DSA provides strategic, secure, and mission critical IT solutions to government and industry and is a leader in program management, information security and regulatory compliance. www.dsainc.com.
HyperOffice has announced the availability of its online intranet
application that allows users yo log on to the system through any
Internet browser and access a customizable desktop with email, documents, calendars, contacts, projects, opinion polls, announcements,
notes and reminders. These tools can be used for individual purposes or can be shared with designated group members for easy, realtime collaboration. www.hyperoffice.com. NextStep Partners,
LLC, a management consulting firm working with emerging information technology companies, has announced that Douglas Jerger
has joined the company as Principal. Jerger brings to NextStep
Partners a 30-plus year successful career building software and information technology companies as a COO, CFO and senior business
development executive. Jerger is also a CPA. He will work from the
company’s office in Arlington, VA. www.nextstep-partners.com.
OPTIMUS Corporation, a leading provider of innovative technology
solutions, has announced that it won two new federal schedule contracts from the General Services Administration (GSA) - one for
Management, Organizational and Business Improvement Services
(MOBIS) and the other for Environmental Advisory Services. OPTIMUS Corporation will provide management consulting, facilitation,
survey and program integration/project management services to
agencies across the federal government for the MOBIS award. Under
the Environmental Services Schedule, OPTIMUS will to provide
remotely delivered advisory services in support of environmental
programs. OPTIMUS estimates that anticipated tasking on the two
new contracts will generate approximately $2 million in annual revenues for the company.
www.optimuscorp.com. SRA
International, Inc., a leading provider of IT services and solutions to
federal government organizations, announced that it has been
awarded a competitive task order by the U.S. GSA’s Federal Systems
Integration and Management Center to provide integration management support services to the Air Force Distributed Common
Ground System Formal Training Unit at Goodfellow Air Force Base,
TX. The order has an estimated value of $19.1 million over five years.
SRA has also been awarded a competitive task order to provide IT
services to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command.The order has an
estimated value of $18.1 million over one year. www.sra.com.
Mission
The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) is the membership and trade association for the technology community in Northern Virginia and is the largest technology council in the nation. NVTC has about 1,200 member companies representing
more than 160,000 employees. Its membership includes companies from all sectors
of the technology industry including information technology, software, Internet, ISPs,
telecommunications, biotechnology, bioinformatics, aerospace and nanotechnology,
as well as the service providers that support these companies. In addition, universities, foreign embassies, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies are
members of NVTC. NVTC is recognized as the nation's leader in providing its technology community with networking and educational events, specialized services and
benefits, public policy advocacy, branding of its region as a major global technology
center, initiatives in targeted business sectors and in the international, entrepreneurship, workforce and education arenas, and a Foundation focusing on venture philanthropy and public/private partnerships.
Send your news to
bits@nvtc.org
The Voice of Technology is published six times per year by the Northern Virginia
Technology Council. It is the official magazine of NVTC. ©Copyright 2005 by NVTC. All
rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in part or whole without the express written consent of NVTC. For reprint information, contact The Voice of
Technology, 2214 Rock Hill Road, Suite 300, Herndon, VA 20170 fax: (703) 904-8008.
The Voice of Technology publishes articles authored by industry professionals.The
opinions and/or positions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of
NVTC. NVTC encourages its members to submit story ideas and comments to:
experts@nvtc.org.
Page 7
irginia's economic vitality in today's knowledge
economy depends upon a
dynamic and strong technology industry, innovative
products and services, and
an expanding and well-educated workforce. NVTC calls
upon the Governor and the
General Assembly for a sustained commitment to
building and maintaining a
sophisticated and stable
legal, financial, educational
and physical infrastructure
that will support technological growth and innovation
for years to come.
V
NVTC’s 2005
Legislative
Agenda
The upcoming General
Assembly session provides
an opportunity for Virginia's
policymakers to continue
moving the Commonwealth
forward. Let Virginia once
again demonstrate its dedication to progress and
enhance its status as a
proactive and forward-thinking model for states across
the country.
N
VTC urges Virginia's policymakers to
adopt the following initiatives and policies
during the 2005 General Assembly
Session:
Objective One: Lead the nation in eGovernment by utilizing technology in the provision of government services, internal government operations, and the procurement process to the greatest
extent possible to enhance efficiency, productivity, convenience
and effectiveness; and to protect Virginia's public and private
technology infrastructure.
Continue efforts to elevate Virginia as a global leader in the use of
technology in government by supporting the Virginia
Information Technology Investment Board and the Virginia
Information Technologies Agency (VITA).
Resist adopting protectionist legislation that would unilaterally
impose blanket policies on state procurement officials that would
restrict their ability to procure goods and services from companies that utilize offshore outsourcing.
Ensure that Virginia's statutory framework remains technology
neutral, especially in dealing with issues relating to criminal law,
tort law and procurement.
Spur greater use of public-private partnerships as an innovative
way to fund and implement initiatives to improve the efficiency
and effectiveness of Virginia's government IT infrastructure,
streamline procurement of IT goods and services from the private
sector, and more closely integrate IT to improve the delivery of
Web services for business and citizens.
Objective Two: Maintain Virginia's preeminent position as a
national technology leader by adopting a policy framework, tax
system and economic development regime that promotes entrepreneurship and encourages businesses that offer the highwage, high-skill jobs that characterize the technology-driven
economy.
Oppose Virginia's adoption of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project
Agreement, a potential barrier to further growth in Internet commerce.
Eliminate the "true object test" imposed by Virginia's Department
of Taxation, which places Virginia businesses at a disadvantage in
winning and performing federal contracts on bundled government contracts for products and services.
Strengthen and enhance the role of Virginia's Secretary of
Technology in ensuring that Virginia continues to grow and compete as a global technology center.
Fully fund Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology to accelerate the next generation of technology and technology companies,
to provide programs and services for technology researchers,and
to direct statewide R&D investment strategies for life sciences and
nanotechnology.
Transform the Angel Investment Tax Credit from one that places
an aggregate cap on individual capital investments in small companies to a more predictable tax deduction, as recommended by
the Virginia Research Technology Advisory Commission.
Adopt regulatory flexibility laws, as suggested by the Attorney
General's Taskforce on Economic Development, to require state
agencies to perform an economic impact analysis and to consider
less burdensome alternatives before regulating.
Establish a Virginia Nanotechnology Commission to guide strategy and policy development.
Facilitate cooperation between Maryland and Virginia in studying, planning and constructing a Techway Bridge to connect the
technology centers of Virginia and Maryland; bolster transportation funding and the use of public-private partnerships to provide for new transportation infrastructure; and build and leverage Intelligent Transportation Systems, telework, and new technologies to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety.
Maintain Virginia's moratorium on Internet-access taxes, exempt
Voice-Over-IP services from state taxation and regulation, and
reduce and simplify state and local taxes on telecommunications
services to promote more rapid deployment of broadband technologies.
Utilize technology industry expertise and practice to guide any
revisions to Virginia's Computer Crimes Act to address growing
threats and improve the safety of Internet activities.
Facilitate the continued growth of the biotechnology industry in
Virginia by adopting the recommendations of the Governor's
Advisory Board for The Virginia Biotechnology Initiative, including sufficient capitalization of the Biotechnology
Commercialization Loan Fund and the authorization of state
bond authority for biotechnology lab facility partnerships.
Maintain the funding level and integrity of the Governor's
Opportunity Fund; keep "highest return on investment" as the
criterion for all economic development assistance; ensure
Virginia's place in the global economy by continuing an outward
export and inward international investment strategy; and lower
the employment and investment thresholds of state economic
development programs to attract more technology jobs across the
Commonwealth.
CONTINUED
ON PAGE
10.
Page 9
CONTINUED
FROM PAGE
9.
Objective Three: Promote the highest quality technology-literate
workforce by investing in public schools and colleges across
Virginia, educating students at every level in technology, and
enhancing Virginia's capacity for innovation, research, development and commercialization of intellectual properties.
Provide Virginia's K-12 public schools with resources to bring
new technologies and advanced teacher training in science,
mathematics and technology to every school in the
Commonwealth and adopt emerging standards for technological
literacy as part of the educational curriculum so that students
understand how to make decisions about technology in addition
to how to use technology.
Ensure that George Mason University (GMU), the Northern
Virginia Community College (NVCC), and Virginia's other institutions of higher education have the resources necessary to provide a highly skilled technology workforce, with particular
emphasis on the overall funding needs of GMU and the health
care workforce program at NVCC.
Continue to refine policies and practices to increase the commercialization of new knowledge and intellectual property within
state universities.
Adopt the recommendations of the Governor's Virginia Research
Technology Advisory Commission to expand Virginia's capacity
for research to better attract federal and private research funding,
including the creation of an "Invest Virginia" program to mobilize
investments in Virginia-based venture capital funds.
Fund a study to determine the feasibility of creating a
Nanotechnology Accelerated Development Center (NADC) in
Northern Virginia to transition basic nanotechnology research to
commercial markets by supporting the prototyping and accelerated development of nanotech components and devices.
Continue efforts to consolidate Virginia's fragmented and redundant workforce development initiatives into a coordinated, seamless system with clear direction to provide Virginia's transitioning
workforce with the knowledge, training and skills needed to fill
technology jobs statewide.
Continue to promote Virginia's Institute for Defense and
Homeland Security, the consortium of university, industry and
federal research and development partners building a national
center of excellence for demonstration and transition of science
and technology solutions to meet national defense and homeland
security needs, and to accelerate the next generation of technology and technology companies in Virginia.
Page 10
Good news from Capitol Hill
on Security Clearances
In a concerted effort to alleviate a huge
obstacle for government contractors, NVTC
has worked hard over the past year to
engage the U.S. Congress in addressing the
serious ineffeciencies in the security clearance process. We are pleased to report that
90 percent of our initiatives were included in
the recently passed Intelligence Reform Bill.
Reciprocity in clearances between all
Departments and Agencies, a statutory
deadline to complete clearances, a clearance
czar, and improved use of technology in the
clearance process are a few of the NVTC-supported provisions that were included in the
bill.
For more information, visit
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgibin/query/D?c108:4:./temp/~c108mmAfgo::
The NVTC Government Affairs Committee
by Bill Baker, NVTC Government Affairs Committee Chairman; Wiley Rein and Fielding
A
major impetus for forming the Northern Virginia Technology Council over a decade ago was the desire to create a voice for the technology industry before lawmakers in Richmond. For years NVTC has forged strong ties with key state legislators, and today NVTC stands as
the leading advocate for technology and technology policy in Virginia. NVTC has also distinguished itself as an informed resource for our
federal policymakers as they work on related technology policy issues.
The growth of the NVTC TechPAC has added a new dimension, facilitating the ability of the technology community collectively to support candidates for state office who share our policy priorities. TechPAC, along with NVTC's Vice President for Policy, Josh Levi, and NVTC's principal
lobbyist, Doug Koelemay of Qorvis Communications, form the ongoing connection with the state's elected officials.
The NVTC Government Affairs Committee, which I co-chair with Duffy Mazan, gives NVTC members input to our policy positions, and particularly to NVTC's Legislative Agenda. The Legislative Agenda, when approved by the NVTC Board, is a guide for both legislators and NVTC's lobbyists. All NVTC members are welcome to participate in the activities of the committee, and we encourage your suggestions and involvement.
The committee meets throughout the year to stay abreast of policy and legal issues, and holds regular conference calls during the General
Assembly session to update members on developments.Additionally, the NVTC Government Affairs Committee has implemented the new NVTC
online application, eCommunities, in an effort to make communication easier and documents more accessible to committee members for policy discussions.
While NVTC's staff, lobbyists, and reputation serve our members well in Richmond, an important role remains for you, the member. NVTC is
most successful when you participate in developing our legislative initiatives, talk about tech issues with legislators, and participate – and, most
importantly – vote, in elections. NVTC's legislative efforts are only as strong as our membership, and we hope you will be involved in the upcoming year. To learn more about NVTC's Government Affairs Committee and how you can get involved, please contact Kristin Seitz at 703.904.7878
ext. 226 or kseitz@nvtc.org.
William B. Baker is a Partner at Wiley Rein & Fielding,
a nationally recognized law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and Tysons Corner, VA. www.wrf.com
Thank You to Our 2005 Legislative Sponsors
Page 11
TechPAC LEGISLATIVE RECEPTION
O
n November 30, Northern Virginia technology leaders joined Congressman Tom Davis, Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, and
more than 20 state legislators in attending NVTC's 3rd Annual TechPAC Holiday Reception and Fundraiser at Maggiano's
Little Italy Restaurant in Tysons Corner. The impressive gathering of over 100 public sector and private sector leaders, including 20 members of NVTC's Board of Directors, provided legislators and NVTC members with an opportunity to exchange ideas, priorities and feedback prior to the 2005 General Assembly session.
Members of the General Assembly in attendance included:
Ken Adami, IMC, and Delegate Joe May.
Steven Gould, Office of the Governor, and
Delegate Bob Hull.
NVTC Senior Advisory member Paul
Lombardi, INPUT, and Walt Rogers, Integic.
Senator Ken Cuccinelli (Centreville)
Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (Fairfax)
Senator Janet Howell (Reston)
Senator Toddy Puller (Mount Vernon)
Senator Dick Saslaw (Springfield)
Delegate Dave Albo (Springfield)
Delegate Kris Amundson (Mount Vernon)
Delegate Bob Brink (Arlington)
Delegate Vince Callahan (McLean)
Delegate Adam Ebbin (Arlington)
Delegate Al Eisenberg (Arlington)
Delegate Tim Hugo (Centreville)
Delegate Bob Hull (Falls Church)
Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (Woodbridge)
Delegate Joe May (Leesburg)
Delegate Brian Moran (Alexandria)
Delegate Chap Petersen (Fairfax)
Delegate Ken Plum (Reston)
Delegate Gary Reese (Oak Hill)
Delegate Tom Rust (Herndon)
Delegate Jim Scott (Merrifield)
Delegate Steve Shannon (Vienna)
Delegate Mark Sickles (Franconia)
Delegate Vivian Watts (Annandale)
Earle C. Williams, NVTC Senior Advisory
member, and Delegate Adam Ebbin.
Senator Dick Saslaw; NVTC Chairman
Sudhakar Shenoy, IMC; and NVTC
Foundation Chairman Dan Bannister.
Delegate Dave Albo and NVTC President
Bobbie Kilberg.
Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore; Bill
Baker, co-chair, NVTC Government Affairs
Committee, Wiley Rein and Fielding, LLP; and
Delegate Brian Moran.
Page 12
NVTC
TechPAC
N
ow in its 3rd year of existence,
NVTC TechPAC, the technology
community’s state-level Political
Action Committee, had an active year.
Although 2004 was not an election year for
state-level candidates, NVTC TechPAC's
NVTC TechPAC Chairman
strong, dedicated Board of Trustees conJohn Backus
tinued to work on behalf of NVTC’s membership in meeting with state policymakers and candidates from
across Virginia to keep them informed of the technology industry's
public policy priorities and the importance of building a broad technology-driven future for our companies, employees and citizens.
Moving forward, our goal is to build on our achievements of this past
year as we continue to grow NVTC TechPAC into a major resource for
candidates for public office in Virginia. Thanks to NVTC TechPAC's
dynamic Board of Trustees, our NVTC TechPAC Annual Supporters,
and the continuing support from NVTC's membership, NVTC
TechPAC continues to grow in size, strength, and influence.
Over the next year, NVTC TechPAC will continue to reach out to candidates across Virginia who are either proven technology champions
or informed challengers showing a willingness to embrace change
and the knowledge economy technology companies are building
throughout Virginia. Building a sound technology policy framework
is critical to every region of Virginia, and we look forward to lending
our efforts toward electing candidates throughout the
Commonwealth in 2005 who will be good decisionmakers moving
forward.
Thank you for your continued support of NVTC TechPAC and all of
NVTC’s legislative efforts.
John Backus
Chairman, NVTC TechPAC
Managing Partner, Draper Atlantic
NVTC TechPAC Annual Supporters
AT&T
Dimensions International, Inc.
Dan Gonzalez
Information Management Consultants, Inc.
Bobbie Kilberg
Duffy Mazan
Stuart Mendelsohn
Qorvis Communications, LLC
Page 13
NVTC
NewsLINK
NVTC President Kilberg and Board Member
Thomas Join Homeland Security Steering
Committee
Legislative Study Panel Nixes Proposal To
Impose New Tax Collection Costs, Burdens on
Tech Companies In Virginia
A
legislative study panel composed of senators, delegates and
private sector representative created during the 2004 General
Assembly at the urging of NVTC concluded its work in
November after a series of meetings, hearings and discussions
regarding the likely impact of a Warner Administration proposal to
enlist Virginia technology companies in a multi-state effort to collect
sales taxes on Internet and remote sales. The General Assembly's
Joint Subcommittee to Study the Impact of Collecting Remote Sales
Taxes on the Economy of the Commonwealth, chaired by Delegate
Tim Hugo (Centreville), found no compelling reason at this time for
Virginia to adopt the multi-state Streamlined Sales Tax Project
Agreement (SSTP), citing many unanswered questions regarding collection costs imposed on businesses, ameliorative provisions in the
Agreement, and a lack of any evidence that the benefits to the state
treasury justify the collection costs imposed on Virginia businesses.
By an 8-1 vote, the Panel recommended that Virginia’s General
Assembly not consider adoption of the SSTP during its 2005 session
and that Virginia policymakers and Virginia's Congressional delegation push for changes to a federal bill currently under consideration
to allow a voluntary interstate tax collection compact between states
instead of a national mandate in order to protect Virginia’s tax sovereignty and ability to maintain its economic development advantage
in growing and attracting technology companies.
During the 2004 General Assembly session, NVTC had strongly
opposed legislation sponsored by Senator Emmett Hanger (Mt.
Solon) and Delegate Vivian Watts (Annandale) which would have
rendered Virginia a signatory to the SSTP. NVTC's Board of Directors
adopted a resolution in September 2003 opposing Virginia's adoption
of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project Agreement, a potential barrier to
further growth in Internet commerce, until Virginia examines in
detail how the SSTP framework might impose new compliance costs
on Virginia businesses, change revenues for Virginia and its localities,
limit state responsibilities with federal mandates, and affect the competitiveness of Virginia companies in the global market. Through the
strong leadership of Speaker Bill Howell (Fredericksburg), Delegate
Hugo and Senator Jeannemarie Devolites (Fairfax), the General
Assembly had agreed to forego Virginia's adoption of the SSTP, and
instead established the study commission. NVTC had an opportunity to present its concerns at length during the study process.
A copy of the Study Report can be found at:
http://leg2.state.va.us/DLS/H&SDocs.NSF/4d54200d7e28716385256ec1004f3
130/0c8a91cc31ee3c5b85256ec500553c45?OpenDocument
N
NVTC President Bobbie Kilberg and Board Member Lydia
Thomas of Mitretek Systems, members of the new Steering
Committee for George Washington University’s Homeland
Security Policy Institute (HSPI), attended its inaugural meeting on
December 17. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom
Ridge welcomed the group via conference call from Detroit and
Deputy DHS Secretary James Loy met with the group for an hourlong discussion.
The HSPI draws on the expertise of The George Washington
University and its partners from the academic, non-profit, policy and
private sectors for a common goal of better preparing the nation for
the threat of terrorism. HSPI will help frame the debate, discuss policy implications and alternatives, and recommend solutions to issues
facing America’s homeland security policymakers.
Other members of the Steering Committee include:
Richard V. Allen, former National Security Advisor
J. Carter Beese Jr., President of Riggs Capital
and former SEC Commissioner
General Richard Chilcoat, Dean, Bush School of Government,
Texas A&M University
Chief Dennis Compton, International Fire Service Training Association
Charles Curtis, President and COO, Nuclear Threat Initiative
Robert Davi, National Spokesperson for i-SAFE and Actor
Martin Faga, President and CEO, MITRE
Dr. Harvey Fineberg, President, Institute of Medicine
Governor James S. Gilmore III, former Governor of Virginia
Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Associate Professor, Institute of Defense and
Strategic Studies, Singapore
Dr. Bruce Hoffman, Vice President, RAND
E. Floyd Kvamme, Co-chair, President’s Council
of Advisors on Science and Technology
Senator Connie Mack, former U.S. Senator
Secretary John Marsh Jr., former Secretary of the Army
and former Member of Congress
Andrew McCarthy, former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney
Alan McCurry, COO, American Red Cross
Patricia McGinnis, President and CEO
Council for Excellence in Government
General Edward Meyer, former Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
General Edward Rowny, former Ambassador
and Lt. General USA (Ret.)
Judge William Sessions, former Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Michael Steinhardt, Founder, Steinhardt Partners
Judge William Webster, former Director of Central Intelligence
and former Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
James Lee Witt, former Director
Federal Emergency Management Agency
R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence
For more information about HSPI, visit:
http://homelandsecurity.gwu.edu/dhs/programs/policy/
Page 14
Interview with CIT President Peter Jobse
Recently Mark Bisnow, of
Bisnow on Business, caught up
with CIT President Peter Jobse
to find out more about
Virginia’s Center for Innovative
Technology
How did someone from Reading,
Pennsylvania, get there?
I relocated to metro DC in 1986 with
Electronic Data Systems, with whom I started
my career. I was with EDS for 19 years. I left
as a senior executive here in the Washington
area and became Chief Operating Officer of a
publicly traded company called Condor
Technology Solutions, which was based in
Annapolis. It was a mini-EDS, essentially systems integration, but serving mid-market
companies. I started at CIT in the fall of 2002.
Tell me the history of CIT and
how it’s structured exactly.
CIT President Peter Jobse
You work in that inverted
building near Dulles Airport that
everybody notices.
It's the coolest building in Metro Washington.
In 1984, the Commonwealth determined that
in order to fuel the growth of its technology
economy, it would place special emphasis on
increasing research and development at our
universities as well as place emphasis on creating an entrepreneurial environment for
start-up technology companies. That led to
the creation of CIT, which is structured as a
non-profit corporation with a mission dedicated to the Commonwealth. To allow the
state to fund CIT, but still enable CIT to operate as a business, two entities were created,
one called the Innovative Technology
Authority which is a political subdivision of
the Commonwealth, and a separate non-profit corporation called the CIT. This structure
allows us to operate as a corporation and
engage in normal business relationships
without the constraints that an agency or an
authority itself would have: wage-related constraints, Freedom of Information Act requirements that would restrict our ability to protect proprietary client information, and the
ability to bind certain contracts, things like
that. Our structure enables us to operate independently of our funding authority, but clearly our mission focuses around the
Commonwealth and the generation of new
technologies and companies that support that
in the Commonwealth.
What’s your budget?
We have a $15 million dollar budget for 2005,
half of which is a Commonwealth appropriation, the other half we receive through awards
of contracts that we pursue and are successful
at winning. This includes federal contracts for
research development and technology identification as well as private sector grants for the
development of different things like broadband distribution and other support services.
CONTINUED
ON PAGE
22.
“It's the coolest building in Metro Washington.”
Why don’t you fall over?
(Laughs) It's a technological wonder.
Architecturally, it was designed so it would be
an icon, for everybody coming in and out of
the Dulles area, of the Commonwealth's commitment to technology and it serves perfectly
as that. It was built specifically as the headquarters for the Center for Innovative
Technology.
Page 15
Copies of the 2005 NVTC Techtopia Map
are available at www.nvtc.org.
For information about how to put your company
on next year’s map, visit www.nvtc.org
NVTC CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Northern Virginia’s Premier Events for the Technology Community
JANUARY
January 7
January 26
Meet the Capital Players
7:30 am Registration; 8:00 - 9:30 am Program
Ernst & Young, 8484 Westpark Drive, 2nd Floor, McLean, VA
No Charge for Members / $35 Non-Members
Platinum Sponsors: Comerica Bank, Technology & Life Sciences
Division; Ernst & Young; DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP;
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Presented by NVTC's Capital Formation Committee
January 12
7:00 am Registration and Networking; 7:30 - 9:30 am Program
Hilton McLean, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA
$35 Members / $70 Non-Members
Platinum Sponsors: McGuireWoods LLP; PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP. Gold Sponsors: C-Level Leadership LLC; Howrey Simon Arnold
& White LLP; Robbins-Gioia. Silver Sponsors: Chevy Chase Bank;
Kenyon & Kenyon; LeapFrog Solutions; Pillsbury Winthrop LLP.
Presented by NVTC's Executive Forum Committee
TechDonuts
CIT Auditorium, 2214 Rock Hill Road, Herndon, VA
No Charge
Jelly Filled Chocolate Sprinkles Sponsor: Cooley Godward LLP.
Cinnamon Twist Sponsors: Aptela; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP;
Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.
Presented by NVTC's Entrepreneur Committee
January 18
Executive Forum
Emerging Business Network
7:30 am Registration & Networking; 8:00 - 9:30 am Program
Grant Thornton, Conference Center Lower Level
2070 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna, VA
No Charge to Members / $35 Non-Members
Gold Sponsor: John Sanders.com; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale
and Dorr LLP. Location Sponsor: Grant Thornton. Event Sponsor:
Teqcorner.
Presented by NVTC's Emerging Business Network Committee
January 27
Business Development,
Marketing and Sales Reception
5:30 pm Registration and Networking; 6:00 - 7:30 pm Program
Clyde's of Tysons Corner, 8332 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA
*Limited to 25 Senior Marketing Executives
Platinum Sponsors: Acquient Search; INPUT.
Presented by NVTC's Business Development, Marketing and Sales
Committee
FEBRUARY
February 1
Membership Mixer
6:00 pm Registration; 6:00 - 8:00 pm Networking and Mixer
$35 Members Only
Location Sponsor: Hilton McLean.
Presented by NVTC's Membership Committee
February 3
Meet the Capital Players
Ernst & Young - 2nd Floor, 8484 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA
Platinum Sponsors: Comerica Bank, Technology & Life Sciences
Division; Ernst & Young; DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP;
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Presented by NVTC's Capital Formation Committee
We Need You for Groundhog Job Shadow Day
March 11, 2005, is NVTC’s Groundhog Job Shadow Day. Please
consider hosting a student at your workplace for the day. For
more information contact Nancy Johnston at 703-904-7878 ext.
234 or njohnston@nvtc.org or visit our Web site at www.nvtc.org.
Page 18
NVTC CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Northern Virginia’s Premier Events for the Technology Community
FEBRUARY
February 8
Nanotechnology
February
SAIC Conference Center, 1710 SAIC Drive, McLean, VA
Platinum Sponsor: Thomson Scientific. Silver Sponsor: ISTN, Inc.
Bronze Sponsors: Lockheed Martin Corporation; McGuire Woods,
LLP; St. Paul Travelers.
Presented by NVTC's Nanotechnology Committee
February 9
IT & Telecommunications Dinner
5:30 pm Registration; 6:00 - 8:00 pm Dinner and Program
Clyde's of Tysons Corner, 8332 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA
$65 for Members / $95 Non-Members
Platinum Sponsors: Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP; Kenyon &
Kenyon. Gold Sponsor: Morrison & Foerster LLP. Silver Sponsors:
Gray Cary; Wiley Rein & Fielding, LLP
Presented by NVTC's IT & Telecommunications Committee
February 9
Titans of Technology Breakfast
Speaker: Roderick C. McGeary, Chairman and CEO, BearingPoint
7:00 am Registration and Networking 8:00 - 9:15 am Program
Platinum Sponsors: George Mason University School of
Management; IBM. Gold Sponsor: Scheer Partners, Inc. Silver
Sponsors: Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance;
Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin; Pillsbury Winthrop LLP; Russell
Reynolds Associates; St. Paul Travelers.
February
Business to Government (B2G)
Gold Sponsors: Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP; INPUT.
Silver Sponsors: GTIS; Morrison & Foerster LLP; Panacea
Consulting, Inc.; Vistronix, Inc.
Presented by NVTC’s B2G Committee
February
Emerging Business Network
6:00 pm Registration; 6:30 - 8:30 pm Dinner
SRA International - ATC Presentation Center
4350 Fair Lakes Court, 2nd Floor, Fairfax, VA
$75 Members Only
*Limited to 20 CXOs. You must be a CXO of a Technology Company to
attend.
Platinum Sponsors: McGuire Woods LLP; PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP.
Presented by NVTC's Executive Forum Committee
February
CFO Series
The Ritz-Carlton, 1700 Tysons Boulevard, McLean, VA
Platinum Sponsors: Ernst & Young; Shaw Pittman LLP. Gold
Sponsors: Marsh Inc.; M&T Bank. Silver Sponsors: Equis; Spaulding
& Slye Colliers. Bronze Sponsors: Bowne of DC Financial Printing;
Spherion.
Presented by NVTC's CFO Series Committee
February
Angel and Seed Stage Financing
Platinum Sponsors: Fish & Richardson P.C. ; Virginia's Center for
Innovative Technology.
Presented by NVTC's Private Equity Committee
February
Business Development,
Marketing and Sales Workshop
7:30 am Registration; 8:00 - 11:30 am Workshop
University of Phoenix, 11730 Plaza America Drive, Ste 200, Reston, VA
Platinum Sponsors: Acquient Search; INPUT. Gold Sponsors: Gibbs
College; St. Paul Travelers. Silver Sponsors: Business Wire; Leapfrog
Solutions. Location Sponsor: University of Phoenix.
Presented by NVTC's Business Development, Marketing & Sales
Committee
Grant Thornton, Conference Center Lower Level
2070 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna, VA
Gold Sponsors: John Sanders.com; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale
and Dorr LLP. Location Sponsor: Grant Thornton. Event Sponsor:
NextStep Partners.
Presented by NVTC's Emerging Business Network Committee
Executive Forum CXO Dinner
REGISTER AT:
Page 19
be determined by the Iraqis themselves, at this crucial juncture in
time.
Letter
from Baghdad
NVTC is pleased to publish the first in a series of updates
from Iraq. Jim LeBlanc, former NVTC Board Member and
NVTC International Committee Chairman, has been in
Baghdad since late September. Jim will be there for 12-18
months leading an international non-governmental
organization’s (NGO) programs and operations in the
country. The NGO is a nonprofit organization working to
strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. It provides
practical assistance to civic, government and political leaders
advancing democratic values, practices and institutions, and
in Iraq, is working on long-term strengthening of civil society
and political parties. Please note: the views expressed in this
article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent those
of the organization.
Behind the headlines, did you know that almost 400 political parties
had been formed in the country? Or that by the first week in
December, almost 240 political parties and coalitions had formally
and officially registered with the Iraqi Independent Electoral
Commission to run candidates in the upcoming election? Campaign
posters and flyers are going up all over Baghdad and the rest of the
country; newspaper, radio and TV political ads have also started.
Were you aware that despite all the negative attention to the fact that
few if any international election monitors, including the U.N., would
likely be here, that an NGO domestic monitoring group had been
formed with the goal of putting between 8,000-12,000 monitors at the
polling stations? I suppose not. But this is also not a country that is
easily understood by the media, the Americans, the U.N., its Arab
neighbors or others that want a piece of it for their various political
interests.
Democracy development programs are constantly oversubscribed
with word of mouth often doubling the number of registrants.
Political party and coalition training; civil society and election monitoring training; political empowerment of women training; and governance training, all eagerly attended despite the daily threats.
I
RAQ - four letters that conjure up a kaleidoscope of visions and
emotions, almost all negative, fed by what most Americans see
and read on a daily basis. VBIEDs (vehicle borne improvised
explosive device), IEDs (improvised explosive device), mortars, rockets, kidnappings and beheadings, Al Jazeera, Green Zone, Falluja,
Mosul, Baghdad, Shi'a, Sunni, Kurd, Sistani, Sadr, and Al-Zarqawi are
all now part of the lexicon. For many on the ground here, this is a
world that consists of PSDs (personal security details), military convoys, armored vests and armored vehicles, secure compounds and 12
foot blast walls.
But it's what you don't see or read about often enough that makes this
country and its people truly extraordinary. Yes, there is a lot of anger
here; anger at the Americans, anger at the insurgents, especially foreign insurgents, anger at the decline in living conditions since the
conflict began. There is anger at the wanton deaths and destruction
being visited upon families, friends, relatives and neighbors. Many
also fear a future in which there is no frame of reference or historical
context.
In spite of all this, there is still real, albeit cautious, optimism here.
There is courage among the Iraqis who put their lives at risk on a regular basis to go about their daily lives. Most of all, they put their lives
at risk by simply trying to fulfill their inherent desire to put the country on a path to some form of democracy, for themselves and their
children. This new chapter in Iraqi history is being written as you
read this. But the true shape of this democracy remains unknown; to
Page 20
Jim LeBlanc, center, with his PSD (personal security detail) in Baghdad.
What must be remembered but that is so often lost, is that one election does not make a democracy. Most so-called modern day democracies are still trying to get it right. Newly emerging democracies like
Ukraine have only been at it a little over 10 years. And in the Middle
East generally a reasonably free, fair, transparent and democratically
elected government may tend to frighten some of its neighbors. The
upcoming election therefore, is but a first step along what will sometimes be a treacherous path to a more democratic Iraq. But it is a critical step and it should not be delayed.
It is in the end for the Iraqis to decide on their future but they must
be given the opportunity unencumbered by a violent insurgency that
despises everything they are trying to achieve. It will not be easy. It
will not be without more pain and suffering. In the end however, the
courage and dreams of the Iraqi people will prevail.
Page 21
THE CIT INTERVIEW,
CONTINUED FROM PAGE
15.
CIT has a staff of 39.What do
they do?
The organization is divided into functional
areas: We have professionals who are dedicated to facilitating what we call research investment; this area includes specialists in disciplines like biotechnology and nanotechnology who identify areas of opportunity for
Virginia, and pursue federal grants to develop
new industries. We have field office personnel, roughly 15 members who staff offices
around the state, who are dedicated to helping
young technology companies grow. They
accomplish this by providing guidance on
research linkage, investment programs, federal grant programs and intellectual property
management.We have members of the organization who focus on entrepreneurs and
investment-related programs that are
designed to help new companies obtain
growth capital. Five members of our team
support the capital programs that assist companies in securing private sector equity based
investment. And we have members of the
organization that do the business of the
organization, the finance, administration, and
communications outreach.
How many companies are you
assisting?
Our regional office network handles between
300-400 companies a year. That's what we
refer to as our portfolio of companies. Our
early stage funding program has looked at
about 150 applicants, some of those are also
our regional clients; many of them are new
businesses. You add that all up, we see about
400-500 companies a year.
What’s the range of services that
you provide to the portfolio
companies?
The portfolio companies generally seek us
out for validation of their technology and
market plans, assistance with research facilities, and growth related funding. In some
instances the companies use us to find new
channels for the potential sales of their products.
For someone reading about CIT in this edition of the Voice of Technology, what are the
possible activities they could do with CIT?
Page 22
There are a number of things that they can do.
If you are a budding entrepreneur, and you
have an idea for starting a technology-based
business, you can vet it with us. If you have
already decided you're going to start that
business, and you've got it anchored in technology, we can help you expand that technology either with relationships with labs or
facilities or with other companies. If you want
to decide whether or not the technology and
direction you're going is unique, we can help
you identify other potential organizations
that have patents that are similar. If you're
looking for companies in the Commonwealth
or in the regional area that may be possible
partners or clients, we can help you with that.
What is your relationship with
NVTC?
NVTC is what we would call a trusted partner.
Many of the technology councils around the
state were actually started by CIT a number of
years ago. When we talk about incubating
new companies and industries, CIT incubated
NVTC. And so, the relationship has now
matured to where NVTC serves as a strong
communications arm for technology in
Northern Virginia, both through their public
policy advocacy efforts as well as efforts to
reach out to new young companies that can
benefit from CIT programs.
Now we can talk about the fun
stuff, the innovative stuff you do
as in your name. What are you
doing that is most interesting to
you?
There's a lot of stuff going on that's really,
really cool. But let me ask you for a moment to
picture a continuum expressed as a horizontal line. As you view the left-hand side of the
line think "the origin of innovation is basic
research; it's people thinking about math, science and about how things work at their most
basic foundation." As the line progresses to
the right, we encounter applied research; here,
scientists use logic and discovery and apply it
to a problem, like internal combustion engine
efficiency. Moving further to the right of the
continuum, applied research projects are
commercialized or turned into new companies that solve problems for society, fix things,
and improve the quality of life that we have.
On the right side of the line, new companies
progress through growth stages, with the end
goal being the creation of a new vibrant company. We look at that entire continuum from
the time research starts, through its development, including the spark of innovation that
would create a new company. And we provide
support to get these companies "off and running." So what we try to do, Mark, is figure out
where we want to be on the landscape of new
and emerging technology ideas, and ask ourselves if we've got enough smart people here
in the universities and the labs in the
Commonwealth who can facilitate the development of a new direction. If the answer is
yes, then we ask ourselves if we've got the
right environment to support the development of new companies. This usually means:
is there enough capital available through
investors in the earliest stages of development, to enable this community to grow and
be vibrant?
So, specific initiatives?
We've got two things that we're focused on
right now that we're excited about. One of
them is in the discipline called nanotechnology, it's the next new science (after biotechnology) that has the ability to be totally disruptive in that it has the potential to touch all
areas of our lives. It's engineering at the
molecular level, so we get to build things that
are stronger, better, behave differently, than
they would occur naturally. So, materials
could be stronger, properties could be
changed, essentially new elements could be
created.
So what are you doing on the
"nano" front?
We believe that the Commonwealth is very
well-positioned in what's called "carbonaceous nano-materials," which is the manipulation of carbon-based molecular structures
for application in a number of specific areas.
Medical imaging is one of those, materials for
defense application is another. What we're
trying to do is develop a thing called an
industry cluster, in which you have research at
universities occurring and companies starting to locate themselves around those
research areas. New companies form next to
those, and you become known for something,
like Maryland is known for a specific type of
biotechnology, and Silicon Valley was known
for software development, and networking
component structures.
So we're in the process of developing a nanocluster around carbonaceous nano-material
production.
as alternative automotive fuels, and biodefense research to strengthen our ability to
identify and combat pathogens.
The first thing we do is to examine the
research strengths that we have in the
Commonwealth and find where promising
technologies are being developed. At Virginia
Tech, Dr. Harry Dorn discovered a nano structure called a Trimetasphere. This is a carbon
cage in the shape of a soccer ball that can hold
various metals and other elements, depending on the application. This nano structure
has been licensed by a company that is using
it to make specific products. We look at that
licensing opportunity, and look at the
research that's done there and ask ourselves:
What does it take for the company to grow
even faster than it is and what's the likelihood
that this structure can be licensed by other
entities, or other companies that build products in conjunction with that? If necessary, we
work with the administration and legislators
to develop programs and legislation to enable
industry growth, In a sense, we are doing yeoman's work to try and help get a young company and industry off the ground. This may
mean something as basic as sitting down with
them and looking at their technology commercialization plan and saying "We think
you've got holes here." If a company has a
solid investment grade idea, we have a program called the Growth Acceleration Program
that is designed to help the company secure
early stage investment by providing them
with up to $100,000 as debt that they can use
as leverage to secure other investors. At some
future date, we will convert the debt to equity
or collect the note, using the proceeds to
invest in another new company. Our mission
is "accelerating Virginia's next generation of
technology and technology companies," and
we look at the development continuum that I
described and try and figure out where a new
company or industry might get stuck, and
determine what needs to be done to remove
the obstacle. Right now there are a number of
young companies stuck in early stage funding, because there's not a lot of funding going
on at the very earliest stages. We do things to
basically "un-stick" them. How's that for a
technical term? (Laughs)
You must be smart to know how
to pronounce that.
It's fun stuff, it really is. One of the things that
I find myself magnetically attracted to is the
point of discovery, and the ability to think
about what the application of that discovery
could be to a problem that might serve the
military, that may have medical application,
that may change products we use daily, and to
figure out how to get the discovery to evolve
into a company, and find markets that are
willing to finance and consume the products
of the new technology.
Can you say more about nanoclusters?
We have identified a specific area of nanotechnology: nano-manufacturing of carbonaceous materials. We're working specifically with young companies that are focused
on this technology as well as research universities that are performing research in this area
to facilitate development of an industry cluster. What we are doing is funding the collaborative efforts to bring these parties together
as well as advancing a strategy for the administration and the General Assembly in order
to secure additional support from the state in
the development of these services and product companies.
N o w, you were going to mention
other exciting things.
Smart-Bio technologies are another area to
mention. These are technologies that marry
life science disciplines with computer science
disciplines to achieve greater advances in our
understanding of disease, medical application and the genomic structure of life forms.
Computer based advances in genomic
research will make it possible for personalized medicines and medical applications
which have the potential to greatly improve
our quality of life. Exciting research with
commercialization potential is also occurring
in the areas of fuel cell development to serve
So, what are you doing about all
this?
Page 23
TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
Abraxas Corporation
6845 Elm Street, Suite 310
McLean, VA 22101
(703) 821-8930
(703) 821-8511
ACCELL Cellular
2121 Eisenhower Avenue., Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 209-8074
(703) 704-5132
www.accellular.com
ActioNet, Inc.
2750 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 520
Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 204-0090
(703) 204-4782
www.actionet.com
Advanced Broadband Solutions, Inc.
9210 Corporate Boulevard, Suite 150
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 337-0100
(301) 977-0260
www.absiweb.com
Affinity Technical Services, Inc.
14408 Chantilly Crossing Lane, Suite 605
Chantilly, VA 20151
(571) 259-8431
(703) 991-5958
www.affinity-tech.com
ASCEND Therapeutics, Inc.
607 Herndon Parkway, Suite 210
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 471-4744
(703) 478-0959
Athena Technologies, Inc.
6876 Watson Court
Warrenton, VA 20187
(540) 428-3316
(540) 428-3301
BringCom
2916 Parklawn Court
Herndon, VA 20171
(703) 915-6860
(703) 318-9459
www.bringcom.com
Bristol Edge
2109 O Street NW
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 861-8016
Capital Sourcing Group, Inc.
PO Box 11265
McLean, VA 22102
(703) 346-4454
(703) 438-8776
www.capitalsourcinggroup.com
Page 24
COLMAR Corporation
166 Seneca Ridge Road
Sterling, VA 20164
(703) 444-8453
(703) 444-8454
www.colmarcorporation.com
Fortress Technologies
3500 Paul Street
(703) 845-7980
Complete Data System Inc.
505 Roosevelt Boulevard, Apartment B319
Falls Church, VA 22044
(703) 532-1659
Full Mesh Networks
11951 Freedom Drive, 13th Floor
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 652-2588
(703) 935-3070
www.fullmesh.net
Corpora Software
11710 Plaza America Dr., Suite 2000
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 871-5229
(703) 871-5111
www.corporasoftware.com
HIPAAdocs Corp
6851 Oak Hall Lane
Columbia, MD 21046
(443) 280-4764
(410) 489-0520
www.hipaadocs.com
Cox Business Services
3080 Centreville Road
Herndon, VA 20171
(703) 480-4836
(703) 480-5201
www.cox.com
IGate Incorporated
4350 Brownsboro Road, Suite 110
Louisville, KY 40207
(502) 893-4583
(502) 893-4503
www.igateinc.com
CT Solutions, Inc.
2730 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 250
Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 289-1560
(703) 991-2408
Infoblox
1800 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, VA 20191
(703) 234-2353
Data2Knowledge
33 Wood Avenue South, Suite 600
Iselin, NJ 08830
(646) 479-4496
www.d2k.com
DotNetContractors
6718 Williamsburg Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22213
(703) 538-2596
(703) 538-2396
www.dotnetcontractors.com
Dragonslayer Applications
19829 Memory Lane
Sterling, VA 20165
(703) 328-3782
www.dragonslayerapps.com
EmeSec Incorporated
12801 Worldgate Drive, Suite 500
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 871-3973
www.emesec.net
Endforce
38145 Howlands Lane
Purcellville, VA 20132
(540) 882-9626
www.endforce.com
Envizion Corporation
2230 Gallows Road, Suite 380
Dunn Loring, VA 22027
(703) 207-1500
(703) 289-9950
www.envizioncorp.com
Integrated Engineering Consulting LLC
PO Box 8505
Silver Spring, MD 20907
(703) 200-1077
(703) 995-4515
www.iecteam.com
Intellimark
220 Yorknolls Drive
Capitol Heights, MD 20743
(301) 336-3945
(301) 336-2471
Intellitactics
1800 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500
Reston, VA 20191
(703) 620-3800
(703) 620-3850
Lincoln Alliance
1130 17th Street NW, Suite 400
(202) 595-1350
Marshall Communications Corp
21525 Ridgetop Circle, Suite 270
Sterling, VA 20166
(571) 223-2010
(571) 223-2012
MicroPact Engineering, Inc.
600 Herndon Parkway, Suite 100
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 709-6110
(703) 709-6118
www.micropact.com
National Datacast, Inc.
1320 Braddock Place
(703) 739-5400
(703) 739-8461
Nexus Innovative Solutions
11250 Waples Mill Road, Suite 305
South Tower
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 995-5900
www.niscompany.com
Predicate Logic, Inc.
9619 Chesapeake Drive, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92123
(240) 304-0889
www.predicate.com
Royer Biomedical, Inc.
4580F Mack Avenue
Frederick, MD 21703
(301) 696-2177
(301) 696-1842
www.royerbiomedical.com
Sherpa Projects LLC
13170 Marcey Creek Road
Herndon, VA 20171
(888) 865-4075
(703) 904-0689
www.sherpaproject.com
Sify Corp
3259 Lothian Road
Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 801-7725
www.sifyinternational.com
SimDesk Technologies, Inc.
8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Suite 1350
Vienna, VA 22182
(703) 760-7849
(703) 760-7899
www.simdesk.com
SMI
12325 Cleghorn Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
(410) 453-0887
Susquehanna Technologies
600 Pegasus Court, Suite 100
Winchester, VA 22602
(540) 723-8700
(540) 665-3434
www.susqtech.com
Sympora Technologies
5431 Woodland Boulevard, Suite B
Oxon Hill, MD 20745
(800) 568-9965
(301) 505-2838
www.sympora.com
SYNERGii
6362 English Ivy Way
Springfield, VA 22152
(703) 475-5384
(703) 451-2339
www.synergiicorp.com
TEOCO Corporation
12150 Monument Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033
(703) 322-9200
(703) 259-4487
Unified Teledata, Inc.
2205 Wakefield Street
(703) 780-8098
(703) 780-8098
UTEK Corp.
9510 Linden Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 530-4824
www.utekcorp.com
VARCom Solutions, LLC
12125 Windsor Hall Way
Herndon, VA 20170
(571) 434-8466
(571) 434-8467
www.varcom.com
X3O, LLC
12016 Gatewater Drive
Potomac, MD 20854
(301) 340-0138
(301) 340-0138
www.x3o.com
Zones, Inc.
1102 15th Street SW, Suite 102
Auburn, WA 98001
(253) 205-3289
(253) 205-2289
ASSOCIATE COMPANIES
ACSYS Information Technology
12120 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190
Black Iris
200 Carman Avenue, F23
East Meadow, NY 11554
(516) 414-5384
www.blackirisconsulting.com
Diamond Marketing
411 Ayr Hill Avenue NE
Vienna, VA 22180
(703) 281-1393
(703) 628-6910
wwwfreddiamond.com
Digifutures
2053 Crossing Lane Way
Vienna, VA 22181
(703) 850-9482
Harvest Bank Of Maryland
15005 Shady Grove Road, Suite 350
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 908-3086
(410) 203-1785
International Jet Management, Inc.
23950 Wind Sock Drive, Suite 1600
Dulles, VA 20166
(703) 996-0600
(703) 661-1902
ITARIS LLC
1750 Tysons Boulevard, 4th Floor
McLean, VA 22102
(703) 744-1080
(703) 744-1001
Mailander & Company, LLC
2012 South Arlington Ridge Road
Arlington, VA 22202
(202) 787-1973
(703) 920-3014
www.mailander.net
MJ Mortensen Associates
2787-B Hartland Road
Falls Church, VA 22043
(703) 573-0230
(703) 560-6753
Monticello Capital
11911 Freedom Drive, Suite 710
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 674-0500
(703) 674-0518
www.monticellocapital.com
PropNet
11654 Plaza America Drive, Suite 130
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 904-3730
(703) 940-2331
www.PropSolutions.Net
SC&H State & Local Tax Services, LLC
1660 International Blvd, Suite 400
Mc Lean, VA 22102
(703) 287-0081
(703) 287-4227
Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, PLLC
1100 New York Avenue, NW
(202) 371-2600
(202) 371-2540
www.skgf.com
TEG Solutions
6400 Goldsboro Road, Suite 100
Bethesda, MD 20817
(240) 235-2144
www.tegsolutions.net
Wolff & King, PLLC
2111 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 402
(703) 535-6790
(703) 535-6791
Wyatt Consulting
416 William Street NW
Leesburg, VA 20176
(703) 808-0445
(703) 771-4022
AFFILIATE COMPANIES
Embassy of Bulgaria
1621 22nd Street, NW
(202) 332-6609
(202) 332-6609
www.bulgaria-embassy.org
IEEE Northern Virginia Section
44831 Milestone Square, Apartment 409
Ashburn, VA 20147
(703) 723-3746
(703) 723-3946
www.ewh.ieee.org
CONTINUED
ON PAGE
26.
Page 25
CONTINUED
FROM PAGE
25.
RENEWING MEMBERS
3M Federal Systems
Acquisition Solutions, Inc.
AH&T Technology Brokers
Alarm.Com
America Online, Inc.
Applied Solutions, Inc.
Base Technologies, Inc.
Bode Technology Group, Inc.
Brainbench
Brodeur Worldwide
Cabot Consultants
Cavalier Telephone
CCSI-Corporate Consulting Services, Inc.
Centennial Computer Corporation
CGI-AMS
The Chubb Institute
Cinea, Inc.
Citigate Global Intelligence
CMC Americas Inc.
The College of William & Mary
Columbia Capital
Columbia Consulting
Core Accounting Solutions
Corp. for National Research Initiatives
Cricket Technologies, LLC
Cryptek, Inc.
Cybertrust
Cyveillance
E3squares.Com
Eagle Software Group
eBay
EbTDesign LLC
Embassy of Finland / Tekes-National Technology
Agency
Page 26
EMW, Inc.
Equis
Frederick-Winchester Co. E.D.C.
GEOBRIDGE Corporation
Georgetown University
Global TechPro
Goodman & Company
Grafik Marketing Communications, Ltd.
Grant Thornton, L.L.P.
Hogan & Hartson
Interstate Worldwide Relocation Services
Jefferson Wells International
Knowledge Consulting Group
Korea Business Development Center
LearnStream Inc.
LinkSpot
LogiXML, Inc.
Manufactured Imports Promotion Organization
of Japan
Merrill Corporation
Microsoft
MicroSys, LLC
Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds
Miklos Systems, Inc.
Mitretek Systems, Inc.
Monumental Venture Partners
Nanoverse LLC
New Vantage Group, LLC
Newcastle Consulting, LLC
Odin, Feldman & Pittleman, P.C.
ORBIMAGE
PDS/Aviant
Perot Systems Government Services Inc.
Powersim Solutions, Inc.
Prosodie Interactive, Inc.
Retrieval Systems Corporation
Rising Edge Technologies, Inc.
RMR & Associates, Inc.
Rock Creek Consulting, LLC
S&H/LeBlanc International
Scheer Partners
Schiff Hardin & Waite
Segal Company
Strelmark
SunTrust Bank
Synxis Corporation
TARGUS Information Corporation
Tatum CFO Partners, LLP
Terrapin Systems
TRAINING SOLUTIONS, INC.
Transwestern Commercial Services
University of Phoenix
University of Virginia
US Trust Company
VCampus Corporation
Visual Analytics, Inc.
Wolf Trap Foundation
WWC Capital Group, LLC
Tech Talk 2004
a Big Success
N
VTC's sixth annual Tech Talk was held on Friday, December 3,
at The George Washington University Virginia Campus
(GWU-VA) in Ashburn, Virginia. Approximately 130 high
school students and 30 educators from Alexandria,Arlington, Fairfax,
Loudoun, Manassas Park and Prince William school districts thoroughly enjoyed learning about emerging and existing careers in engineering, technology, and health.
The keynote speaker was Belle Wheelan, Virginia's Secretary of
Education. Dr. Wheelan challenged the students to strive for academic excellence while honing their interpersonal skills and work habits.
She also focused on the breadth and depth of educational opportunities in Northern Virginia, from community colleges to public and private undergraduate and graduate education degree programs, all of
which were represented as exhibitors and contributors to the event.
Nine different workshops focused on careers in information technology and telecommunications, transportation safety and security, and
public health and homeland security. Exhibitors from seven public
and private colleges offered students information on college programs to prepare for these careers. As one student stated, "Tech Talk
was something that just might catapult my career into the right path!"
Just a few of the comments made by
our TechTalk students:
"It was really insightful and
helped me decide what I would
major in when I go to college."
"The workshop I attended was
amazing and really exceeded my
expectations."
What more could one ask from a student-oriented career fair?
Many thanks to our Hosting Sponsor, GWU-VA; our Platinum
Sponsor, DeVry University, Crystal City Campus; Breakfast Sponsor,
The Northern Virginia Tech Prep Consortium; and Silver Sponsors,
Greenberg Traurig LLP, Mitretek Systems, and the Northern Virginia
Workforce Investment Board.
"Tech Talk 2004 helped steer me
in the right direction for the
future."
Page 27
New Clubhouse Opens
NVTC
Foundation
Opens
Fourth
Computer
Clubhouse
T
he NVTC Foundation is
pleased to announce the
opening of its fourth
Computer Clubhouse! On
December 1, 2004, over 50 supporters and Fairfax County officials joined in the ribbon-cutting celebration of the new James Lee Computer Clubhouse, located
within the newly renovated James Lee Community Center.
Several local Fairfax County officials attended, including The Honorable Gerry Connolly, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of
Supervisors; Linda Smyth, Supervisor, Providence District; Patricia Franckewitz, Director, Fairfax County Department of
Community and Recreation Services; Janet Kerr-Tener, Fairfax County Public Library Foundation Chair; Patrick Dexter, former
Chair, Fairfax County Public Library Foundation; Roberta Longworth, Executive Director, Fairfax County Public Library
Foundation; and Sam Clay, Director, Fairfax County Public Library.
Dan Bannister, NVTC Foundation Chairman, and Bobbie Kilberg, NVTC President, thanked everyone for their dedication and hard
work in getting the James Lee Computer Clubhouse up and running. The Computer Clubhouses are extremely important to our
community – 800 children a week take advantage of the computers available to them at the clubhouses. Having access to technology and computers provides incentive for these children to do better in
school, and helps them to be better prepared for future jobs.
The NVTC Foundation would like to thank its outstanding partners:
Fairfax County Department of Community and Recreation Services;
Fairfax County Public Library Foundation; Fairfax County Public Library;
Fairfax County Public Schools; and the Computer Clubhouse Network for
all of their hard work in helping present these important Computer
Clubhouses to our community. If you are interested in volunteering at one
of the Clubhouses, or making a donation to the NVTC Foundation, please
contact Pam Dudley at pdudley@nvtc.org, today.
Page 28
SAVE THE DATE
March 3, 2005, is the next
“TEXAS HOLD'EM” event to
benefit
the NVTC Foundation
Look for more
details soon!
Profiles in Giving
Community Philanthropy
Long Term Contributor
L
isa Martin has been an active NVTC
member since she founded LeapFrog
Solutions in 1996. Lisa and her
LeapFrog Solutions team don't just join
organizations – they strive to make a meaningful contribution to each and every one.
The design of the NVTC Foundation Web
site is no exception. In 2001, through her
work with NVTC, Lisa learned of the
Foundation's need to design and develop its
foundation Web site – www.nvtcfoundation.org. After discussing the project with
the LFS staff, Lisa offered to donate development of the site to the foundation. This project represented LeapFrog's largest pro bono
undertaking at that time. The $25,000 site
highlights the benefactors – the people who
benefit most from using the computer clubhouses. In 2004, the LeapFrog Solutions'
team again redesigned the foundation's Web
site, pro bono.
LeapFrog Solutions' ongoing commitment to
share its expertise, time, and talents with
area non-profits, service organizations, and
charitable causes is exemplary. For many
nonprofits, the marketing, graphic design,
and hours the LeapFrog team contributes –
technology expertise and access to highquality collateral materials that often times
are not possible in the current economic
realities – is critical to their efforts to
increase visibility, promote their services to
the public, and raise funds.
LeapFrog lives by its mission – integrating
traditional marketing methods with emerging technologies to make your message matter – by making non-profits such as the
Northern Virginia Technology Council
Foundation, Reston Relay For Life, Fairfax
Choral Society, Volunteer Fairfax and
Leadership Fairfax and many others' messages matter to the Washington
Metropolitan region.
Lisa Martin is President of LeapFrog
Solutions, Inc., a company she founded in July
of 1996. Ms. Martin has 18 years experience
in professional marketing communications
and project management. She specializes in
developing strategic marketing campaigns for
high-technology clients, as well as association-sponsored conferences and trade shows.
Ms. Martin has extensive experience in managing web site design and backend development, graphic print design, and video production and she is recognized for her innovative
work in web site development and multimedia presentations.
Ms. Martin is a featured speaker at numerous
events focusing on the effective use of multimedia and Internet marketing, including the
Northern Virginia Technology Council,
Leadership Fairfax, Women in Film and
Video, National Women's Business Center,
Fairfax County Economic Development
Authority and many others.
Ms. Martin is on the Board of Directors of
NVTC, the Fairfax County Chamber of
Commerce (FCCC), and Volunteer Fairfax.
She is also an active member of the Young
Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO) and the
New Media Society (NMS) and is a graduate
of the 1999 Leadership Fairfax program and
the 1999 Mindshare program.
Page 29
Tech Leadership vs Festina Lente
I
t may seem pretentious to employ Latin phrases to
make a point about Virginia government in the
New Year. Latin, after all, is supposed to be a dead
language that survives only in root words and in vague
legal references among friends. But status quo ante bellum and quo vadis seem particularly appropriate as
the Virginia General Assembly convenes in Richmond
January 12 for its 2005 session.
First, consider status quo ante bellum, defined as a
return to the conditions and terms that existed before
the war broke out. Eight to ten years ago "good ole partisanship" ruled in campaigns and in the General
Assembly itself. When all was said, done and elected,
state officials buckled down together to balance the
budget, fund education a little less than needed and
distribute bond proceeds for transportation projects
carefully across all districts. Despite all the state capitol manipulations and power brokers, a modicum of
respect, civility and collegiality prevailed in
Richmond.
With the control of the General Assembly at stake in
the late 1990s, however, a sharper and unending partisanship took over that inflicted permanent damage on
elected officials and their ability to govern. Majorities
in both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates
changed, thereby tearing down the old power structure, while the economic slowdown squeezed the last
rush of air out of bipartisanship.
Various state officials suddenly became reluctant to
balance the budget on any terms other than their own.
Collegiality gave way to mortal combat. So education
got funded a lot less than needed, not just a little, and
the money needed to back new bonds for transportation dried up. Concordia res parvae crescent – working
together to accomplish more – disappeared. Interparty feuding finally calcified into a budget war of
attrition among Republican leaders in the House and
the Senate that transformed the 60-day General
Assembly session of 2004 into a 150-day session. Only
a staggering march back to bipartisanship by a handful of Republican House members and the Democratic
minority allowed the Commonwealth to meet its constitutional obligations.
Since then the rapid improvement of the Virginia
economy has pushed state revenues back toward prebudget war levels. Additional revenues from a tax
reform package adopted despite dozens of "over my
dead body" pledges in 2004 have ended cuts in government services. Now there are opportunities to
recapitalize the rainy day fund, add money for school
Page 30
construction and at least move revenue streams
diverted from transportation accounts back into
transportation accounts.
Republican leaders are finding common ground with
Virginia's Democratic governor in defending the status quo ante bellum. It is hard beyond "good ole partisanship" to disagree with the conservative objectives
set out by Governor Mark R. Warner to continue tax
reform, maintain financial stability, focus investments
and meet core service commitments. The governor
acknowledged that increased school enrollments,
Medicaid utilization, prisons, public employees pay,
retirement and health benefits are eating up almost a
billion dollars of increased revenues.
Also conscious of the need to defend their General
Assembly majorities and to elect a Republican governor in November 2005, Republican leaders in the
majority in both House and Senate have lowered their
rhetoric in referring to their differences. Cornix cornici oculos non effodiet – a crow doesn't rip out the eyes
of another crow – sums it up well.With only a handful
of exceptions, the General Assembly seems determined to make its 45-day session in 2005 last just 45
days.
But that only brings the Commonwealth of Virginia
back to the larger question: Quo vadis – where do we
go from here? The Commonwealth still hasn't repealed
the requirement that retailers prepay sales taxes. The
decade-long commitment to repeal the sales tax on
food is unfinished. Capital investment and construction funds for schools, higher education, wastewater
treatment and transportation are a fraction of documented needs. And the governor missed key points of
the NVTC legislative agenda, such as eliminating the
discriminatory "true object test" imposed by the Tax
Department on bundled government contracts, fully
funding the Center for Innovative Technology, planning a new Techway Bridge across the Potomac and
creating a nanotechnology center to showcase
Virginia's breakthroughs and potential.
Festina lente – make haste slowly – remains Virginia
government's greatest contradiction. The General
Assembly needs to hear from NVTC members that the
technology community expects more.
Douglas Koelemay is senior advisor to NVTC and
managing director at Qorvis Communications, LLC.
The Northern Virginia Technology Council
2214 Rock Hill Road
Suite 300
Herndon, VA 20170
www.nvtc.org
(Hosted by PatriotNet)
OF
ION !
T
I
Y
D
T E OLOG DAY!
S
A
L
O
HN
OUR F TEC SHIP T
Y
S IS ICE O MBER
THI
VO
ME
THE YOUR
EW
REN
PRESORTED STANDARD
US POSTAGE PAID
MERRIFIELD VA
PERMIT# 2453

the voice of technology - Northern Virginia Technology Council

Transcription

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